December brought some cold and wet weather which deterred me. Plus, I cannot lie, I began to feel weary. I think I needed a buddy to keep me motivated. But lots of glorious riding up to December. Here's the recap:
JCC CycleFest
I rode the JCC CycleFest out in Warrenton. This was a 64 mile ride at 14.4 mph. I found this stressful to ride alone because it felt remote. Lisa, Katie, & Deb L. came as well but they stuck to the shorter course. The cyclists at this event tend to be advanced (they smoked me in the first mile a few years before so I knew to expect this). This time I hung in with them for the first 5 miles (which I think is their warm up) then they started to creep away from me. Here they are in the distance.
If you zoom in you can see them in a group. I knew at this point it would be a matter of time before they disappeared for good into the landscape. I caught up with them at rest stops then left before them without really resting to try to keep myself in the field. But they all passed me everytime.
At this stop I realized the danger of not having a buddy along when I got locked in the bathroom and worried everyone would leave without me and I'd be trapped in this remote general store for the night!!
I found out after the fact that my sister's trainer was on this ride. She said they lead group averaged 15.7 mph, so I still had some work to do before I could keep up. Still it was a beautiful day with some of the most challenging hills of the season. Those remote Loudon roads get narrow and steep and curvy!
Back Roads Century - West Virginia
The next week, Lisa, Katie, Deb, Deidre and I did the Backroads Century in West Virginia. We made a weekend of it and stopped at two wineries on our way out the day before. I need cruise director Julie (Deb Lane) to chime in and remind me of which ones we went to! The first I loved. It might have been called the Barns. The wine was great and the view and venue beautiful. The tasting room is in an old dairy barn.
For the ride, I'd aimed to ride a century, but the organizers overwhelmed me with words of warning about how challenging the ride would be - I worried about going it alone. So I committed to 60+ with the hope of adding a few extra miles. In the end, I was a little sorry because this ride was much less challenging than the JCC ride the week before. There was only one steep hill and it was very short. The rest of the ride was rolling - with plenty of downhill to give momentum for the uphills. There were no long climbs. I did squeak in a few extra miles at the end, riding 73 miles at 15.2mph and feeling really good. It was a great day - and I felt awesome!
Between the Waters Bike Tour
Well, I couldn't be satisfied after failing to ride the century in West Virginia, so I signed up for a final ride to cap off the fall: The Between the Waters Bike Tour in Wachapreague, VA. I loved this ride! It started south of Chincoteague, was completely flat, and toured through village after village filled with quaint houses and Hillary Clinton signs. Marcelle came along and rode 60+ miles. Here we are at the start.
The landscape moved from pine forests to open coastlines. It was really beautiful once the 25 mph winds and the rain from the morning cleared up. I wasn't sure I could ride 100 miles and be wet at the same time!
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| did I take this from the car? i think i see a dashboard reflected in the windshield! |
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| I don't know if I've ever seen cotton growing before! |
This was a very quaint church but the guy who photographed us cut off everything but the door! I was too cold and anxious to get back on my bike to take other pics. I think I was at about 45 miles at this point.
And then, just like that, it was done. 100 miles at 15.2 mph. I was really proud to hit this milestone and feel so good this year. I was definitely tired, but not suffering. I'd worried about my neck, my knees, my wrists - basically my everything - but the old bod held up!
I thought this was a cute house at the finish.
Marcelle waited for me in the car. :)
Middleburg
So that was supposed to be the end of my fall adventures, but I did keep riding through to Thanksgiving. Just before the election, Steve Lane organized a ride for us out in Middleburg. We had Steve & Deb Lane, Katie and Chris, and me, and we rode about 26 miles at 13.2mph--a little slow because of all the socializing.
It was a REALLY beautiful day and we rode through some incredibly picturesque landscapes. It was marred a bit by all the Trump signs which I found shocking. Didn't realize this portended of what would come in just a few days.
My pics don't capture the unending rolling hills with manicured pastures, stone walls, and split rail fences. We closed the day out at a winery with some horseradish dip and white wine which we all devoured. A great day!
Williamsburg - VA Capitol Trail
Later in November, I had the chance to revisit the VA Capital trail where I camped earlier in the summer. I rode one afternoon while Claire was at a synchro clinic in William and Mary. Everything was the opposite this time. I started from Williamsburg instead of Richmond and it was freezing, unlike the scorching 99 degree day when I camped earlier.
Here's a fall view of the trail (no shadow mirages this time).
I made it to the bridge where I concluded a 50 mile ride in the summer after just 13 miles. This time it was chilly over the water and I didn't want to die of heatstroke! My campsight from summer is over my shoulder.
I don't really look very happy! Maybe it's the fact I forgot my biking glasses so I look like a dork! From here I turned around to ride the quick 13 miles home for a total of 26 miles for the day at 15.5 mph.
Outer Banks
Even though I took a few rides in December, it's fair to say I capped off the season riding in the Outer Banks during Thanksgiving. I got out for two 30 mile rides which were really pleasant and unusually calm. No wind! Which is rare at the beach. Best thing about these rides? My average speed of 16.4 and 16.6 respectively. I've never ridden that fast before! Yes it was flat, but that means no downhills to help you out either. I rode up to the drive-on beach but only took this one pic of the sun rising before I set out the first morning. Here we can pretend it's a fitting sunset on an awesome riding season. Farewell 2016!
